HDP deputy Ayhan detained at airport in Şanlıurfa

Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Şanlıurfa deputy İbrahim Ayhan was detained at the GAP Airport in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa on Monday morning.

Ayhan was taken into custody on the grounds that he failed to attend a trial at the Şanlıurfa 5th High Criminal Court in which he faces charges of disseminating the propaganda of a terrorist organization.

Turkey has stepped up its crackdown on Kurdish politicians in recent months. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, while hundreds of local Kurdish politicians have been arrested on terror charges. There are currently 11 HDP deputies behind bars including the party’s Co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ.

The developments have attracted widespread criticism from the region and Western countries.